Hell A
by Kid-Incorpo1986
Summary: So here it is. Another quiet attempt at a cross between Scream and Angel.
1. Normalish

Sidney Prescott looked into the calm blue water of the pool below her, it gently billowed her image, presenting her slender build, shoulder-length brown hair that had superfluously been teased just a few days before at the salon, and her friendly, if guarded, smile. After all these years, she finally felt the way she looked. Normal. When people looked at her, they couldn't off-hand guess that she was the target of several criminally insane individuals. They didn't see the guilt and sorrow she held within her over the deaths of her friends and people she only barely knew, all because of the bullshit mommy-issues of her half-brother Roman.

Roman was dead now, however, and with his burial, she put to rest all of the trauma. She had washed herself clean of the past and moved forward. While she kept her Nappa Valley home for the seldom times when she did feel overwhelmed by the presence of other people, for the most part, Sidney lived in LA. Sometimes with a certain homicide detective, sometimes without him. Her relationship with Mark Kincaid matched her lifestyle in its easy-going, take-it-or-leave-it nature. If Mark wigged her out by trying to be too serious or not serious enough, she'd stay at her place, otherwise she'd stay at his. She was enjoying being 25 and most importantly, care-free. She kept her job at the California Women's Crisis Center, but now held a job within one of its offices and among the living. Everything was going fine with her life.

However, every silver lining has a cloud.


	2. Wanting More

"Oh, I am so stupid," laughed Sidney while in between calls at the job, "I was eating a Dum Dum, you know the sucker candy, and I read bubble gum on the label, so I got excited, and thought, 'Wow, they make these with gum in the middle now?' So I chomped through that little thing, and it was gone so quick. Before I could even realize that it was just bubble gum _flavor_."

"Gee, Sid, thanks for that anecdote," grinned Alton, a new hire.

"You know, you've got a smart mouth for someone who's only in training," she joked.

"Hey, call me weird, but I just find it hard to be intimidated by the girl who was out-smarted by candy," he countered, laughter dancing in his eyes.

"Bite me, Alton."

"Would you bite me, if I told you I had gum in my center?"

With a wink, Sid placed her head-phones over her ears once again, "And here is where we get back to work."

;O;O;O;O;O;O;O

When Sidney got back to her apartment that afternoon, she was surprised to find Mark there waiting for here in the living room. If one were to describe their relationship as on-again/off-again, their current state would definitely have been thought of as off-again. Sidney had simply had it with Mark running after the starlets he protected on the job. He swore up and down that any flirting or such behavior was only in her head, until she found him in bed with a Lindsay Lohan wannabe. They had stopped talking for a while after that one, but still, Sidney did not give up on the idea of them being together. She owed a lot to Mark, who, after all, helped save her life and also the lives of Dewey and Gale, who had moved back to Woodsboro after the murders. And Mark knew that Sidney held a soft spot in her heart for him, it was why he was brave enough to be sitting in her apartment in the first place. She did, however, put on a cold front, "What are you doing here?"

"I've missed you."

She was caught off guard by his straightforwardness, "Well, I..."

"It's okay if you don't know what to say," he smiled, reading her thoughts, "I thought that maybe we could just talk a while. I want you to know that all those girls, they're history. I'm over that, all I want is you Sid."

His profession, while meant to induce sympathy and eventually an apology from Sidney, held the exact opposite effect, it reminded her of why it had been over a month since Mark had stayed the night. She deserved so much better. If there was one lesson that she had learned and inexorably held true within her heart, it was that life was short, too short to be wasted on someone who was ultimately, not good enough. Mark had already proved himself unworthy once, why should she stick around to wait for him to do it again. "You know what? I'm not really in the mood to talk. Not tonight. Not anytime soon really."

"Sid, come on."

"No," she asserted, turning her back on him to open the door for his exit, "You should go."


	3. Beware of Randy Clone

"California Women's Crisis Center, this is Sidney, how can I- - Mark?! I can't believe you. Stop calling me at work," she sniffled. This wasn't the first time he'd called today. And each time he came up with more and more hurtful things to say to her. She tried to take his words with a grain of salt, but he knew her too well. He knew just which wounds to dig up and pour salt over. She slammed down the receiver, "Fucker!"

He made her miserable, and she was quickly beginning to wish she never met him. He was her last link to the old Sidney, the victim. Everyone else was gone or had moved on. Her father remained in Woodsboro, remarried, with a little one on the way. Gale and Dewey were in Woodsboro too with twins already pulling at their arms and pushing aside their memories of the murders. Tatum, Hallie, and Derek were gone. And Randy, he was gone too. Randy, formerly her perpetual "what if", (What if she'd given him a chance? What if she dated him in high school instead of Billy?). Even his memory no longer haunted her. She quickly realized that dumping Kincaid was the best thing she could have done, and was willing to put up with his temporary harassment if it meant that in time, he too would be just a memory.

She wiped her tears, and took her lunch break, not noticing Alton following close behind her. He followed her into the lounge and sat across from her, "Are you alright Sidney?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, a smile replacing her tears, "Really, I'm fine."

"Well"He ventured, "Who was that on the phone? Your ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah," She laughed bitterly, "Keyword ex. Ex, ex, ex."

"I see."

Alton got quiet, and Sidney took a good look at him. He reminded her so much of someone, but she couldn't put her finger on who. He was 22 and still had quite the baby face, and one could look into his blue eyes and only imagine the number and the depth he held behind them. He was a dreamer. And what drew her most to him was his sarcastic sense of humor. He was very much like the non-murderous sibling she'd always wanted growing up.

And the it hit her. Randy. He reminded her of Randy. And as he nervously bit at his fingernails across from her, Sidney got the sinking feeling that he was about to prove just how Randy-like he could be.

"Sid, what do you think about me and you going out to dinner sometime?"

Just. Freaking. Like him. She didn't want to hurt her mini Randy or Randy-2, but at the same, she just didn't want to go to that place again either. So she just laid out the truth, "Alton, you're a really great guy and all, but you're just not my type."


	4. A Big Headache

AN: This story takes place way back when Cordy was getting those headache visions, bc thats when i loved the show the most, call it my author's perrogative. ; )

;0;0;0;0;00;

"Oh, not now, please"moaned Cordelia as she felt another blinding vision begin to build itself up in her cranium. She braced herself, gripping the table, trying to be strong. And then it hit her, like an enormous brick being crushed into her skull. White flashed over her sight, and then came her vision: A brunette woman fleeing through a back alley. Cordelia could feel her fear, utter terror. It gripped her, taking her breath away, "Angel!!"

Angel ran to her, gently clasping his hand over hers, "What is it Cordy, what do you see?"

"I can't,"she sobbed, "She's so afraid, Angel." She tried to compose herself through it, focusing on the girl, "There's something after her. A demon. White face, black body."

"Where?"

The vision then halted, just as quickly as it had come upon her. Cordelia took a seat at the table, collecting herself yet still shivering from her brush with the woman's fear, "I gotta say, Angel. I can get used to roaches, I can get used to the reality of vampires, and I can even get used to living with a freaking ghost. But as for visions, those I will never get used to. And this time I felt the girl's emotions so vividly. She was truly petrified. You gotta save her."

"Well where was she?" he asked, throwing on his duster, "I'm ready."

"Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you the catch," she looked into the vampire's eager eyes, "It was daytime."

Angel's gaze wandered towards the window, it was pitch black outside, "Damn."

"But I know that it hasn't already happened. I know it, I can just sense it. Just be at the California Women's Crisis Center tomorrow afternoon, okay?" her face scrunched up at the thought of Angel battling the woman's demon and the sunlight at the same time, "We'll have to get you one of those super thick blankets I guess."

O;O;O;O;O;O;O;O;O

That night, Sidney had tucked herself into bed with a little Jack Daniel's on her belly to keep her warm since she was back to being alone. But she was optimistic about it. So maybe she'd broken two hearts in two days, at least she was finally about to move-on from her past whole-heartedly, with no man pulling her back. She tried to envision the next one, what he would be like. Images of broad shoulders, brooding eyes and affectionate arms caressed her mind as she drifted to sleep.

But her dream was not visited by such a creature.

When Sidney awoke later that night, she was in quite a sweat. She knew her dream had been unsettling, but she couldn't quite place what had happened, the memory of it had already faded. Whatever it was had left her glowing with perspiration. She peeled at the sheets that clung to her body, and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, headed for the air conditioner.

The floor creaked beneath her feet. It was things like that that made her regret living alone. Little night sounds always made her mind jump to the worst possible scenario. But on this particular night she refused to let herself go to that place mentally, and turned the air down to 50.

And then she heard a noise that couldn't be written off by creaky floors or grasshoppers or her loft settling. It was the distinct sound of footsteps. Booted footsteps, footsteps that were, therefore, not her own. She froze, not even breathing. Instead she strained her ears to find where the intruder was coming from.

"Sidney, Sidney, Sidney"it whispered, causing her heart to plunge to the ground. It was The Voice.

She recoiled in her spot against the wall, giving up before the fight had even begun, "Please go away"

It approached her, the sound of its boots growing faster and faster in pace until it was running. Before she knew it, it was upon her, and she remained in her corner, sobbing in defeat. It snatched her up by the arm, throwing her into the plastered wall, and in one swift movement it slid that ubiquitous knife across her throat.

Sidney woke up with a start. She struggled to catch her breath. It had been a long time since she had any nightmares about the killer. Silently, she thanked whatever entity it was that had looked over her for the past 7 years or so that it was only a night mare. After that, she didn't give much thought to her dream. Although her nightmares had increasingly become few and far between, she also understood that they were the one aspect of the murders that she would probably never put behind her. So instead of making a deal out of it, she rolled over and vowed never to drink before bed again.

What Sidney didn't know was that ignoring the dream would leave her unprepared for the surprises that the next day was to bring.


	5. Cold Eyes, Hot Wool

At work the next day, Sidney was flooded with calls. And they were a little hard to handle. She'd spoken to a teenage girl who sobbingly refused to accept the fact that she'd been date-raped, a middle-aged woman who was afraid that her husband, who had always been abusive to her, had begun sexually abusing one of her daughters, and a female who's age she couldn't quite place, who had just about given up on life entirely; and all before lunch time. All of these women were victims, unable to take their lives back into their own control. And while the job could easily leave Sidney in a funk in her personal life, she didn't mind it because she had been a victim herself not long ago. And why not use the perseverance built up in her from her past experiences to help other women? It only made sense to turn the bad from the murders into good through helping Sidney earnestly relate to these women.

Plus, on this particular day, focusing on the phone calls helped Sidney keep her mind off of Alton. He was a sad story. He came into work late and didn't say one word to Sidney; he wouldn't even look at her. And when she finally did lock eyes with him as he handed her some paperwork, she regretted it intensely. His formerly inviting, dreamy blue eyes were deathly cold, and they glared right through her. She tried to smile at him, and make light of everything, but Alton would have nothing to do with her. And while she didn't regret saying no to him, she did feel like she had lost a friend. Since she knew that her usual of joking around with Alton for a good few minutes after her shift was out of the question, she decided that she was going to slip out of the side door, into the alley, so that she wouldn't have to suffer his cold shoulder a second time that day.

0;0;00;0;0;0

"_I look like a freaking ghost,"_ Angel snickered bitterly to himself as he waited in the sewer at the back entrance of the Crisis Center. He was wearing thick wool gloves, and his torso was covered with a thick wool blanket with two holes cut in the front so that he could see. Basically, he felt and looked like a bit of a jackass. The plan was to grab the demon and pull it down into the sewer with him, to make his sun exposure as minimal as possible. It made sense, and sounded efficient enough, the only problem was that he had been waiting in that sewer for an hour and a half, covered in wool, in LA. Needless to say, he was a little hot, and also kind of itchy too. Angel sighed in frustration, then looked up to see a man in a ghostly looking mask, with a black robe on, slinking along the side of the building, "_At least I'm not the only one who looks like he's dressed for Halloween."_

Just then a long-legged, brunette female in jeans exited the building. Angel tensed up, assuming this was the girl from Cordelia's vision. He ticked his eyes over in the direction of the man in the mask, he was gone. Anxiously, the vampire watched as the woman headed towards the sidewalk. She swallowed the final sips of a Sprite and started to toss it aside then thought better of it, turning around to throw it away in the dumpster behind her. Her heels clicked against the concrete. The sound greatened in his vampire ears.

_Click-click-click-click-click-click-click. _Stop. _Aaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiigggghhhh!_

Her scream, his cue, left a ring in his ears as he climbed the ladder out of the sewer while the sun instantly beginning to take its toll. He had to analyze and act on the scene quickly. Apparently, the guy in the mask had deeper intentions than twirling his thumbs in the back ally. He threw the woman against the brick wall, revealing a colossal knife. Angel ran to help as fast as he could, but he was having trouble seeing through the smoke that was building on top of him. But the girl surprised him in ability. She sent her knee flying into the man's groin, then shoved him aside, running blindly away.

Unfortunately, she fell into the hole left open from Angel's underground waiting area.

"Damn," Angel whispered, finally grabbing hold of the man and yanking him into the sewer.

The man was of poor capacity when paired against Angel, even with him not being vamped out. He knocked him out with one blow. His skin was searing beneath the wool, though, and he winced before turning to the girl, "Are you alright? Whoa..."

The woman crouched into the wall, her eyes wide with horror and her cheeks stained with tears. Her heart pounded a thousand times a second in her ears as she tried to piece together what had happened before her eyes. Ghostface was back.

Angel's face softened at the sight of her terror. He reached out to her, using a gentle tone, "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Don't touch me!" She screamed, giving him a personal taste of the groin maneuver she'd used on old ghostface only moments before.

;0;0;0;0;0;0;0;0

"No more daytime missions, Cordelia. Give them to Gunn or Wesley," was the first thing that came out of Angel's mouth when he got back to his hotel.

Cordelia eagerly ran to him, ignoring fleeting ideals such as personal space, "So did you save the girl?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it 'saved'," he recollected, heaving his wool coverings into the trash can, "The girl pretty much had it under control without me. I helped her into a sewer, that's what I did. And for thanks, she gave me a kick in the nuts before running off. Oh, and as for your demon..."

"Yeah, did u kill him? Was there green stuff?"

"Not quite. I didn't kill him. And there wouldn't have been any 'green stuff' anyway, because he was a man in a costume."

Solemnly, Cordelia shook her head, "No, Angel. You have to go find that girl. Go back to her. I had another vision about it earlier. A really bad one," she looked down at her hands, glossing over the brutal details of the pain it caused her, "I did not go through that physical hell for nothing. You have to save her."

"And I will," he pronounced, sliding into his usual duster, "But I gotta wonder why The Powers That Be are giving you us so much trouble over a mortal man."

"Because, Angel...It's not a man, it's a demon."


End file.
